


Within My Soul is Your Home

by Aethelia



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-11-14 18:50:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18058067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aethelia/pseuds/Aethelia
Summary: Baekhyun is proud of Kyungsoo. He really is. But there’s a tug in his heart when he sees Kyungsoo moving on. Moving out. There are amazing architects all over the world that Kyungsoo admires. Wants to work with. And he’s good enough that he’ll go wherever he sets his eyes onto. Japan’s just the first stop.It’s their first time in Tokyo together, and Baekhyun’s excited. He tries to be, despite their inevitable parting.Ch. 2: Bonus of Baekhyun and Kyungsoo in the onsen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to do a travel + food fic...so here we are! This has literally been in the works for a few years now, with small bits added every now and then.

They land in Narita airport first, and Baekhyun is left to marvel at the sights while Kyungsoo heads to the counter and buys their Skyliner ticket. For a second, Baekhyun feels absolutely blown away – and he’s only in the airport – but the next second, there’s that defensive protective nature peeking out. He almost wishes he hadn’t come, wishes he had stayed home and pretended that this city wasn’t as alluring as it already was. How _does_ one reject the advances of such a beautiful city anyways? If he’s already so entranced, how can he expect Kyungsoo to not be just as entranced?

Baekhyun is fixed on watching the giant timetable screen, a little overwhelmed, a little tense, ignoring how his phone vibrates and buzzes with an ambush of alerts, most likely from all his groupchats (probably Chanyeol and Jongdae mass texting in _all_ the chats) when Kyungsoo slips his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulders.

“Train’s in 10,” comes the smooth deep voice, still a little hoarse from napping on the plane.

For Baekhyun, that sleepiness had been completely driven away by excitement, and anxiety, but for now, he’s determined to make the most out of everything. And just as he did on the plane, he now looks over to Kyungsoo with a bright grin on his face.

“We’re actually doing this,” Baekhyun says, a little breathless, a little giddy, and that drowning feeling of this being the last time for awhile is pushed down just a little.

Wordlessly, Kyungsoo leans around and starts pushing their larger sized suitcase and heads towards the escalator down.

“Eight minutes, Byun,” and Baekhyun swears that if he could see his boyfriend’s face right now, there’d be the same stupid grin (in the shape of a heart, of course) on Kyungsoo’s face.

 

While Kyungsoo turns on his phone, which is also under attack from the ruckus their beagle counterparts are causing in the group chat, Baekhyun has his face pressed against the window, his seat barely containing him.

His eyes greedy for any Japanese characters, Baekhyun runs his mouth whenever he can, determined to leave Japan with at least a little more knowledge of the language. Forget about his linguistics phase in university where he tried to learn everything, Chinese or Latin or Russian or whatever – the more Japanese he learns, the higher the possibility of him coming back. Soon. Maybe someday they’ll be that cute couple conversing in their “secret” language, Kyungsoo the language connoisseur and Baekhyun the language fanatic.

“Do-san,” Baekhyun turns to his left and whispers, almost reverently. The man gives a noncommittal grunt in reply, still scrolling through the house manual their Airbnb host had provided them with.

“Kyungsoo-kun,” Baekhyun tries again, this time with his hands clutching onto Kyungsoo’s arms.

“Hmm?” This time, Kyungsoo spares him a quick glance, shoots him a heart smile that goes straight to his heart, but then turns back to his screen.

_This won’t do._

“Soo-chan,” whines Baekhyun playfully, dropping his head onto his boyfriend’s shoulders and trying to be as cute as possible. He knows he’s cute, goddammit; it’s how he very innocently manipulates his friends to be nice, ahem, other than the occasional (very common, really,) physical acts of abuse.

Kyungsoo lets out a snort of laughter, but he turns slightly, just enough for him to press a kiss onto Baekyun’s upper forehead. Baekhyun’s heart stops for a second, he swears – clenching in a nice pleasant warm way, like it’s a small animal being cooed at in the owner’s hands. That’s him, basically, isn’t it? Him, a small pup, squirming into Kyungsoo’s hold despite being just a tiny bit taller.

“Don’t call me that,” says Kyungsoo, sounding both very amused but also very serious at the same time.

_“That_ , was a very mixed signal if you really wanted me to stop,” Baekhyun says as he snuggles more into Kyungsoo’s body. “You must have failed Psych101.”

He falls asleep listening to Kyungsoo’s chuckles as his boyfriend’s body vibrated.

 

Their Airbnb host is extremely enthusiastic, and Baekhyun gives up on trying to follow the conversation. Instead, he wanders around the space, opening all the drawers and taking a peek within, The giddiness hasn’t left yet; his heart thumps when he sees the large dark blue bed backed against the window.

_Only a few days left to have Kyungsoo all to himself._

There isn’t actually a door, and it is at that spot, the invisible barrier between the kitchen and the bedroom that Kyungsoo finds him, eyes still set on the bed.

“Any questions?” Kyungsoo’s breath is warmer against his skin than the blazing sun outside.

“Can we have hot raunchy sex?” Baekhyun whispers back cheekily, wondering if Kyungsoo is feeling sentimental enough to surprise him.

“For Nara-san, Byunnie.” Kyungsoo doesn’t _verbally_ answer the important question, but Baekhyun counts the kiss to his cheek a success anyways.

Baekhyun loves to see Kyungsoo being affectionate in public. Loves to see himself being just as brave. But he can’t help but think that Kyungsoo’s affection comes from his need to make things up for Baekhyun. The price of each kiss is too much for his liking.

“Nai-desu,” Baekhyun cross his arms to further emphasize his works, then lets himself be pulled towards the door where Nara-san waits with a brown packet in her hands and a huge smile on her face.

She converses with Kyungsoo some more, and this time Baekhyun can vaguely guess that she’s giving them information about touristy spots from the names he recognizes, _Shinjuku, Omotesando, Ginza_. He quickly flashes his gummy smile and gives the universally understood head nod as a goodbye. Somewhere in his mind, he thinks he’s probably connected more than Kyungsoo has when Nara gives him a smile and a nod back before exiting the apartment.

_Verbal communication is overrated anyway._

_(He’s learned that after being with Kyungsoo for so long.)_

“So where do you want to go today?” Kyungsoo asks him while he rummages through the cupboards.

Baekhyun shrugs, plops himself down on the edge of the bed, and fights the urge to lie down. “We could just stay in?” Baekhyun says after moment’s pause after remembering that Kyungsoo can’t technically see him – although sometimes Baekhyun swears that there are eyes on Kyungsoo’s back.

“Hmmm.”

Baekhyun sees his boyfriend walking towards him and he pushes himself up. Like a koala, he wraps his legs around the younger’s legs and he wraps his arms around Kyungsoo’s midsection. With his head leaning on his boyfriend’s abdomen, Baekhyun thinks another nap might be in order. But before he can voice out his suggestion, Kyungsoo, with his fingers combing through Baekhyun’s hair, speaks up.

“Let’s go get some groceries.” In their small studio, Baekhyun feels bliss in this small bubble, and he doesn’t really want to leave. He wants to stay here, locked in Kyungsoo’s embrace, wants to hide his boyfriend away from the world for a little longer.

“Aren’t you too tired to cook?” Baekhyun asks. He knows it’s a good idea to walk around the neighborhood and figure out where everything is, but he wants to stay here too, locked in Kyungsoo’s embrace, wants to hide his boyfriend away from the world for a little longer.

“I want to cook for you more,” Kyungsoo answers. _Before you leave,_ is left unsaid, but to Baekhyun it feels like it was shouted.

“There’s always an option for you to cook for me everyday,” he says, trying to smile even though Kyungsoo can’t see his face anyways.

“Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo sighs and Baekhyun sighs too, because all the excitement of the trip suddenly left him, and he just wanted to curl up around Kyungsoo and keep him anchored to him. So that he stays wherever Baekhyun is. But that’s too much, because staying with Baekhyun means not having a future, and Baekhyun genuinely loves Kyungsoo to much to do that, to strip Kyungsoo’s bright future away.

 

They finally step outside the comfortable apartment to head to the first restaurant on Kyungsoo’s list the next day. Baekhyun lets Kyungsoo handle the ordering – food is his boyfriend’s expertise after all. Instead, he flips through the menu and reads out the items he can under his breath. There are a few kanji characters in there that he recognizes in the pretty much all forgotten Hanja he learned in school, but he’s proud that he can at least pronounce most of the items in hiragana even if he doesn’t necessarily understand what they mean.

Only when the owner comes to their table with their utensils and a hot towel does Baekhyun put down the small book with the wooden covers and thick rough pages. Despite the summer heat outside, the slight burn of the hot towel is surprisingly refreshing and comforting, but the feeling could also just stem from the whole environment.

The store itself was hard to find, just a small storefront tucked between houses and apartments in one alley of many similarities near Ginza. Baekhyun’s not exactly sure where and how Kyungsoo finds all of these locations, only that he’s so glad his boyfriend is such a foodie. On the outside is a traditional exterior – all wood. The upper part of the building is covered in black wood – Kyungsoo had given a mini lecture on how the wood was charred and supposedly that helped preserve the wood? Baekhyun loves it when Kyungsoo goes into full-on nerd mode, but there’s a reason why he doesn’t have an architecture degree, and why he hadn’t wanted to get one.

Right outside the window, which is semi-shuttered with bamboo, is a black rectangular pot with baby bamboo growing, and the small bamboo water fountain on top of smooth grey rocks only add to the almost stereotypical Japanese feel.

Perhaps the peace he feels comes from the zen of the whole area. Either way, the calm ends as soon as the first plate is set down. Tamagoyaki – hot, and as he bites down, the salty flavor is squeezed out from the spongy texture and flows onto his tongue. He swallows, and opens his mouth to let out some of the heat.

“Good?” Kyungsoo is taking another bite of the egg roll, and he looks as satisfied as a cat that was treated to a fancy lunch.

“Good,” replies Baekhyun, who takes his chopsticks and cuts his tamagoyaki into distinctive parts and adds some radish onto his next bite. “Tamagoyaki,” Baekhyun says slowly, “Tamago for egg and yaki for grill, right?”

“Wah,” Kyungsoo glances up and smiles, “You’re learning fast.” The satisfaction bursts from his whole body; learning has never felt this fun. He really should have stuck with linguistics, Baekhyun thinks.

With how small the store is, the noise from all the customers blend together, although never does it become cacophonous. Baekhyun can even hear the sizzling of oil, and he thinks it might come from his tempura being prepared. Sure enough, his bowl of tempura soba comes, and the steam infiltrates his nose. A request for a photo on his tongue, Baekhyun looks up to see Kyungsoo already holding his phone up.

After breaking apart his chopsticks, Baekhyun picks up a piece of tempura and holds the chopsticks out. Kyungsoo leans forward without any hesitation, and Baekhyun’s mouth opens and closes to mirror Kyungsoo’s. He smiles in satisfaction when Kyungsoo chews, swallows, and nods his approval, then picks up another piece to take his own bite.

Kyungsoo’s dish comes in the form of a wide rectangular box filled with cold soba noodles, a bowl of mashed raddish, and a small jar of soy sauce. Eagerly, Baekhyun waits for Kyungsoo to mix in his toppings, his chopsticks already hovering over the box. He leans forward and draws up a few pieces of noodles, dips the noodles into the sauce bowl, and slurps away.

The punch clears up his airway right away, and his eyes widen to accommodate the sting.

“What did you order?” He asks incredulously, trying to calm down his throbbing taste buds and palpitating heart.

“Something spicy, with horseradish,” Kyungsoo grins as he sucks in some noodles. It’s a weird type of spicy – almost like wasabi but with something else – and honestly a little addicting now that the sting has worn off.

Baekhyun takes a spoonful of soup to mitigate the slight pain in his mouth, and closes his eyes to savor the taste. The broth tastes flavorful, even if he cannot determine exactly what the taste is. There must be some tempura sauce added based on the sweetness, and probably some yuzu, judging from the small piece of fruit peel he just bit into. Either way, the meal is satisfying, and he feels like he could float forever.

Once they’re finished, the man comes over to take their bill. Baekhyun’s gaze follows him back into the kitchen, and on a whim, he says, “Next time, let’s get the counter seats.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything but smiles, and the promise of a next time fills his heart more than the delicious lunch filled his stomach. Realistically, he doesn’t know when the next “next time” will be. He’s already on a loan for the costs of this trip. His heart feels like a balloon that was pumped too much air and exploded.

They seem to be going on an eating spree. After soba, Baekhyun had thought he’d be too full to have another full meal, even though Kyungsoo had raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“You’ll be hungry again in a few minutes, babe, we’re going to be walking for most of the day.”

Baekhyun pouts and rubs his stomach. “I swear you’re just trying to fatten me up.” When he looks up, Kyungsoo is right in his face, and he sucks in a small breath.

Kyungsoo pinches his cheeks and pulls his arms so that he stumbles forward. “I just want to experience as many delicious foods as possible with you,” he says simply, and they continue to walk forward, his fingers tightly clasped with Baekhyun’s. The elder gapes for just a second, but he giggles a little and hides part of his wide smile behind his hand, squeezing his boyfriend’s hands a little in response.

As they walk through Ginza, the two take a very touristy picture in the middle of Central Chuo Dori, where they hold their bright smiles for some time as Baekhyun tries to capture a picture with them in the middle of the crowded road.

“I can’t believe they actually close this street for pedestrians,” he comments when he finally takes a look at his phone, scrolling between pictures in burst mode.

“There are quite a few tourists and shoppers after all,” Kyungsoo replies, but he too, looks around in awe. “Baek!”

“Hmm?” Baekhyun looks up at Kyungsoo’s short exclamation, trying to focus his gaze on whatever his boyfriend is looking at. He immediately knows what Kyungsoo is talking about, because sitting on a tower-block-whatever is a gorgeous cat, its body mostly dark brown except for his neck and chest and front paws. A group of people is already surrounding the cat with their cameras out, everyone ridiculously drawn to a random cat sunbathing out under the Ginza sun.

“I wish we could have adopted a cat,” Baekhyun says as he brings his camera up so he can capture a few pictures.

Kyungsoo snorts. “I can’t deal with you _and_ a cat, you know. Not to mention Chanyeol and Jongdae? It’s already like working in a shelter with the three of you around.”

Baekhyun laughs, because it’s true. Laughs louder, because he doesn’t know what to do when he’ll return to Korea and the beagles won’t have their caretaker anymore.

Kyungsoo insists that they visit the Tokyo International Forum, but on their way Baekhyun sees one of the buildings on his list of stationary stores, and Baekhyun, having majored in English language and literature, of course demands that they stop. The building is obviously old with its antique elevator. It’s the old style metal slide door, and even the floor indicator is the aesthetically pleasing type, no electrical numbers, just numbers lining a semicircle with an arrow pointing at the floor.

They step into the small store, and Baekhyun almost cries. Pens, hundreds of pens, in glass cabinets, on the table, lining the shelf behind the old man, so many pens that Baekhyun thinks he could stay here forever. He knows Kyungsoo also appreciates stationary, is a master of determining quality of paper with touch, has a high standard for the artistic tools he uses, and even loves a good pen with flowing pigmented ink and a good grip, but Baekhyun, Baekhyun is the one who would willingly spend all his money on high quality writing pens, fountain pens, ink, mechanical pencils. This is what he nuts over.

This place is of a collector’s, Baekhyun realizes, from the Parker clock to the stands and displays of different sizes and materials of nibs, caps, and that giant fountain pen painted on the back wall. He sees a vintage Pelikan posters of previous generations of fountain pens and inkbottles and one from Soennecken, sees the shelf filled with different types of inkbottles, but mostly with dusty antique boxes, mostly of Pelikan, but also of the early Mont Blanc, Pilot, Nakaya and Sailor. There are so many old tin boxes for the pens, of an _actual_ physical large fountain pen model, no, a few actually, stacked near the air conditioner, placed on a wall – what a heaven. He sighs dreamily; there are so many things here he could spend hours just admiring all the different collections. He turns and the sight of an old Astoria pen box for _the_ Gold Fullhalter makes his breath hitch, because never in his life did he think he’d ever _see_ a Gold Fullhalter, even if he only sees the box in front of him.

In another cabinet, he sees the applauded Platinum 3776, but he gets distracted by the small sign in the cabinet, “万年筆.” He recognizes the Japanese character for “ten thousand,” and the shared kanji characters of “year” and “pen” make him delighted to realize that the Hanja for fountain pens are the same as in Japanese. It shouldn’t surprise him, but these small things cross languages delight him all the same. Baekhyun is still saving up for a new fountain pen, but he still stays in the store for a good twenty minutes while the owner clicks away at his chunky desktop.

After they leave the store, they head towards the International Forum, which Kyungsoo had insisted they visit, claiming that it’s definitely a must-see sight.

“Another one of your architectural sights?” Baekhyun sighs in mock annoyance, but he still has a small skip in his steps as he links his arms around Kyungsoo’s, and their walk there is like the walk of an old married couple, whose long years have mellowed the relationship, burning away some steam and leaving behind the pure sugar.

It _is_ impressive, Baekhyun has to admit, with the giant glass windows and the steel bridges that seem to cross midair, and the weirdly shaped ceiling that reminds him of –

“A ship,” Baekhyun murmurs out loud, tilting his head in wonder.

“Ahh, even you recognize this?” Kyungsoo teases back, keeping his volume low, mindful of all the other people in the atrium.

“Pfft, if I didn’t, wouldn’t the architect have failed?” Baekhyun takes Kyungsoo’s hands in his, because the magnificence of the building isn’t lost even on him, and the amazement that this was designed by someone, a _human_ , makes his hart palpitate at the thought of what Kyungsoo could achieve. Baekhyun knows what Kyungsoo needs to do, and knows that he must be selfless to let Kyungsoo pursue his dream, gain experience – and someday, the building that takes his breath away might be designed by the love of his life.

“Wanna go up and walk across the bridges?” Kyungsoo looks at him and strokes Baekhyun’s cheeks with his thumb, like he knows what Baekhyun is thinking and wants to shower him in some love and affection.

He shakes his head. “Can we visit the Imperial Palace instead?”  
“Let’s save that for another day; the Palace is too big for a short walk. Are you hungry? We can go get some food.”

And so the two find themselves in a tonkatsu shop. Baekhyun’s feet is tired, his arms are starting to tire of grinding seeds, and his stomach is growling from being empty, but his heart is so full – it’s such a cliché, he knows, but his heart is so full of Kyungsoo, for Kyungsoo, for these few moments they have left –

“Your seeds are flying all over the place,” complains Kyungsoo, raising his voice slightly to make himself heard over the grinding of sesame seeds.

“I’d love to contain my seed spray to just your face,” Baekhyun leers raunchily, although he notably slows down the speed at which he grinds.

The vibrant scent of sesame floats up, soon joined by the faint acrid sauce that Kyungsoo adds into his bowl for him.

Baekhyun’s still swirling his bowl around, watching the sauce pool pick up more ground sesame particles when their dishes come. Eyes practically sparkling form the sight of fried pork, aided by the growling of his stomach, Baekhyun digs in. He has a surprisingly systematic way of eating. First, he picks up his first piece, holds it close to Kyungsoo, and says, “Ahhh.”

Although Kyungsoo has been consistently affectionate on this trip, Baekhyun’s heart always hums pleasantly when Kyungsoo leans forward to accept the offering.

When a piece of pork is held close to his lips in return, Baekhyun smiles and his eyes crinkle, and it’s the best piece of pork he’s ever had.

After he’s finished his fried pork, sometimes with a bit of rice added, he starts on the shredded cabbage. The freshness of the crunchy salad lightens his soul, the hint of yuzu from the sauce keeping the cabbage flavorful. Having dipped his meat in the heavy, thick, slightly sweet sauce, the yuzu-seasoned cabbage is even more refreshing. With all the yuzu-infused food they’ve been eating, it just feels even more like summer. With how they’ve been going around today, and will be tomorrow, it feels like vacation. It technically is, even if it’s also goodbye.

They haven’t really had a proper conversation yet. Well, proper meaning an actual heart to heart about the implications and the up-coming challenges and even their future. They came to Japan with three large suitcases, only one of which will be going back to Korea with Baekhyun.  
Baekhyun doesn’t really want to think about the half-empty closets or the lack of the Diptyque cologne bottle along with Kyungsoo’s other personal toiletries on their bathroom counter. Doesn’t want to think about the bed that’ll be too large for him or the kitchen that’ll barely be used. He doesn’t know if he’ll last, doesn’t know if he’ll go a day without sobbing for Kyungoo to come back. Doesn’t want to put himself in that position. The best case, he thinks, would be if he went back single. A clean break. Cutting Kyungsoo off so he can fly into the sky, maybe to outer space, and conquer the universe. He’s always worn his heart on his sleeves, but he has a spear in his hand that he thinks he’ll have to use. He doesn’t want to think about it. In the meantime, he’ll continue living like nothing’s wrong and wrap his love around his boyfriend as they blaze through Tokyo hitting all the foodie spots.

 

“Do you want to visit my firm? It’s around here. Maybe a ten minute walk?” Baekhyun stiffens, his good mood from enjoying the piece of pineapple cake and the cup of green tea at Sunny Hills immediately evaporating. It had been raining that morning, and he hadn’t wanted to walk through the Imperial Palace in that weather, so instead they had gone to Omotesando. Of course they hit up Sunny Hills – he for the cakes, Kyungsoo for the building.

He hates that Kyungsoo’s calling it his firm; he hasn’t even started yet? Things could change, couldn’t they?

_Not really,_ his brain tells him, and he wants all of them to shut up.

Kyungsoo must have noticed his discomfort, because he places a hand on Baekhyun’s wrist. Without even thinking about it, Baekhyun shakes it off and pretends not to see the look in Kyungsoo’s eyes.

Baekhyun will go visit Kyungsoo’s architectural sites with him and listen to him talk about his favorite architects and buildings and all that (He thinks he could probably recite the biography of Tadao Ando and his works by now), but he will not discuss Kyungsoo’s architectural future with him. No. There’s nothing to discuss, really. Kyungsoo was offered a job, and he took it. Maybe Baekhyun pushed him to take it, but he still did. Still decided to leave Baekhyun alone in Korea. He doesn’t want to even meet Kyungsoo’s boss. Doesn’t ever want to see the firm that Kyungsoo will call home for the next however years. Doesn’t want to think about the future that he won’t be part of.

Baekhyun is proud of Kyungsoo. He really is. But there’s a tug in his heart when he sees Kyungsoo moving on. Moving out. There are amazing architects all over the world that Kyungsoo admires. Wants to work with. And he’s good enough that he’ll go wherever he sets his eyes onto. Japan’s just the first stop.

Meanwhile, Baekhyun is still figuring out his degree. Figuring out what his analysis of Kafka can do for his future. Wondering if anyone will hire him over someone else because he’s read all of Tolstoy’s works.

He wants to fight. Knows that Kyungsoo wants to fight too. But sometimes, tracks just get too far apart for the link to hold on.

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says softly, “do you want to get pancakes?” Baekhyun hates how understanding Kyungsoo is sometimes, hates how giving he is, hates how he can control Baekhyun’s moods like a light switch.

He shakes his head, an ugly monster swimming in his stomach, not just taking away his appetite but also reminding him how shitty he was as a being. Why couldn’t he be more supportive? Why couldn’t he be as okay with this as Kyungsoo was? Why couldn’t he just find his own place in the world and not rely on Kyungsoo constantly? He didn’t know. Baekhyun swallows the dryness in his mouth down, and forces a grin onto his face.

“It looks like the rain has stopped. Let’s check out the Imperial Palace now?” Kyungsoo nods and Baekhyun sighs in relief. Another crisis averted.

 

That night, Kyungsoo takes them to a Michelin-starred unagi restaurant.

“That,” Baekhyun sighs as he leans back with one hand while resting the other on his stomach, “was _soooooo_ good.” Grilled eel on top of perfectly cooked rice? Hit Baekhyun up any day.

Kyungsoo hands him a cup of sake and raises his own. “It was good,” Kyungsoo agrees. “Indeed worthy of a Michelin one star, eh?” They clink their cups together before each taking a sip.

Baekhyun lets the disgusting alcohol burn down his throat before he rests his head in his hand and hums contently. He hates alcohol, likes to sip dessert wine at most, but at times like this, he thinks he can appreciate the bitter liquid. It’s been stuck with him the entire afternoon – their future.

With his eyes closed, he takes in a few breaths and listens as Kyungsoo calls for the waiter. He thinks he hears sake in there somewhere as he lets himself slump down. He feels boneless – almost as good as after sex, but not quite yet.

A few minutes must have gone by before Baekhyun reopens his eyes to the sight of Kyungsoo looking at him with such raw intensity in those huge doe eyes. His boyfriend looks like he’s drunk in love, or sake at the very least. The waiter comes back with a new bottle and speaks gibberish, because enough alcohol has been consumed that Baekhyun doesn’t, can’t, gives no shit about trying to understand.

“Still hungry?” Kyungsoo asks him, head tilted to one side and a menu in his hands.

“Mmmm, nah,” Baekhyun answers before he reaches out and grabs the bottle. Once he twists the cap open, he fills their cups – Kyungsoo’s first.

There’s no one else on the tatami mat other than them at the moment, which is probably why Kyungsoo so unhesitantly engages his feet with Baekhyun’s under the table.

Similarly, their hands find each other across the black wooden surface, finding a path between the empty plates and bottles.

Baekhyun wants to hold on forever, but Japan calls. The nice old lady comes to their table and their hands break as she cleans up their empty plates.

_Baekhyun wants to hold on forever, but reality calls._

By the time they leave the small unagi restaurant, they’re both a little tipsy. Not yet to that sickening dizzy unbalanced feeling yet, but enough that Baekhyun shouted (more like botched), “Gochisosama deshita!” to the kitchen staff before they left and enough that Kyungsoo was persuaded to belt out “Cheer Up Baby” – hand motions included while they were still standing by the door. Don’t blame him, the nice lady had said that Kyungsoo looked like a famous singer, D.O., and so of course Baekhyun hyped up his boyfriend into giving a mini-performance. By the end, it was clear that Kyungsoo was not meant for the stages. _Shouldn’t be taken by the world_ , Baekhyun thinks hazily. _Should be only mine._

They’re walking on the streets, both agreeing that the fresh air will do them good, when Baekhyun starts giggling about Kyungsoo’s performance again.

“What are you giggling about, hmm?” Kyungsoo asks and bumps into his shoulder, intentionally lightly, but Baekhyun’s gone enough that he trips over his feet and almost falls onto the streets.

“Can you imagine if we ever got into the kpop industry?” Baekhyun asks and snorts, or maybe he does both at the same time – he can’t really tell.  

“I can’t,” Kyungsoo’s words are seemingly more slurred, and Baekhyun thinks that his boyfriend is just like a penguin right now with all the side-to-side swaying. “I wouldn’t want to give you to the world,” he continues with his drunken honesty before he swirls around points.

“Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down,” the younger sings and bobs his head. “So don’t you give up on me either. Don’t you give up on yourself.”  
Baekhyun wants to laugh and shout that those aren’t the actual lyrics to the song, wants to pretend that there’s more alcohol in his system than there really is, wants to whip out his camera and film Kyungsoo being ridiculously soft, but he can only stand still and try to blink the fog away from his eyes. His eyes are so misty that even under the shitty streetlights, Kyungsoo still notices the glassiness. Kyungsoo furrows his brows and waddles towards Baekhyun, hands reached out like a zombie looking for food. He must have been aiming for the eyes, but his hands land on the brows instead. Either way, his actions stop all potential tears, and Baekhyun ends up cracking up, Asian squatting on the ground.

Somehow, they make it back to their apartment safe and alive, although Kyungsoo might think twice considering he did another drunk rendition of “Cheer Up Baby” in the alleyway to a small crowd of stray cats.

In the hours of lowered inhibition and walls of rationality, they still manage to throw their clothes in the general vicinity of the laundry machine. As soon as they’re both naked, Baekhyun leads Kyungsoo to bed, soon proving why he’s the king of every bed-sharing nightmare. Immediately, Baekhyun has more than half the blanket on his side and a leg thrown over Kyungsoo’s. They’re intimate in an unintimate way with all the bare skin touching. Baekhyun is curled up so that he doesn’t see Kyungsoo’s face at eye level, and his back is arched, and as he’s dozing off he thinks an ocean could maybe fill the gaps.

In the hours of subdued moods and silent contemplation, the high from earlier seeps away.

“I’m not giving up,” Kyungsoo murmurs into Baekhyun’s hair, words spoken in a soft tone backed by the strong intent. Staying silent, Baekhyun nips at Kyungsoo’s neck and wonders. Wonders how long it’ll take before the taste of Kyungsoo leaves his tongue. Wonders how long it’ll take before he doesn’t need to save a spot on his palette of appreciation for Kyungsoo anymore. Fuck, alcohol’s depressing. It’s messy. It turns his thoughts upside down, makes things that seemed clear into murky unknowns.

( _It’s also brutally honest_ – and this thought he ignores.)

They don’t talk about it the next day. Instead they shop casually, and Kyungsoo points to a bookstore that he wants to visit. Baekhyun heads up immediately, eager to look at the selection of stationary they have. A while later, he’s ready to leave with a bucket filled with trinkets, but he freezes on the staircase down. He may not understand Japanese, but he recognizes the Kanji characters. He’s spent too much time looking at Kendo Kuma’s architecture firm website not to recognize them. There, he sees Kyungsoo with a pile of books resting on the shelf in front of him, presumably all about architecture.

There’s nothing new about this, but suddenly Baekhyun’s not sure he can make it down the stairs. His grip on the handrail seems to beo much for his brain, and no command makes it to his muscles. While he leans on the rail, he takes in steady gulps. As soon as he tears his eyes away from Kyungsoo, he flies down the tairs and fast walks to the section furthest away from architecture as possible. It’s not rational, it’s not rational. He knows. He’s talked about architecture on this trip. He’s seen architecture. He’s not sure what it is about Kyungsoo reading books about his field that has him almost in a panic attack. He knows he’s being ridiculous, but it doesn’t stop his hands from shaking or for all the blood to rush to his head, drowning his thoughts and his sanity. He grabs a random book of the shelf, not even caring if he’s reading it right side up, just needing something to grab onto.

“I didn’t know you were into yaoi,” Kyungsoo’s voice comes over his shoulders and into his ear.

“I’ll need it for when I’m lonely,” he replies, still in a daze, mind not in control.

It’s the silence that jolts him back. All the ambience noise only adds to the air of hypnotism, but it is their silence that snaps his bubble. He’s not only to be ashamed or shy in public, but he blushes when he looks down and sees extremely graphic gay porn staring back up at him.

Kyungsoo seems to know that his brain had gone blank, because his brows furrow and he asks, “Are you okay?” He rests his chin on Baekhyun’s shoulders, and Baekhyun’s struggling to breathe for a whole new reason.

“Yeah,” he breathes. “Maybe you’ll come home to your side of the closet filled with different types of porn.”

“Hmm,” Kyungsoo kisses his neck, so quick and brief that Baekhyun barely processes it in his mind. “Maybe we can try out the kinky stuff they do.”

Baekhyun giggles, because this banter is familiar enough to relax him, even though his mind is still stuck on the question, _will it still be your home? Will you still come back?_

They still haven’t really talked about it. Well, they have. They discussed the benefits of Kyungsoo moving, the cons, but they never talked about what would happen to _them._ Maybe it was implied, but Baekhyun’s expertise in analysis lies only in fictional characters, not actual humans.

 

They do end up walking by Kyungsoo’s office one day. Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, but Baekhyun had obsessed over his new job at first and had tried to find any information possible about Kengo Kuma and his firm and his works. Maybe that’s why he didn’t try harder to stop Kyungsoo from leaving; Kengo Kuma was such a bright path for Kyungsoo to take. They get on the subway and Kyungsoo speaks up.

“Maybe you should find a job here too,” he suggests. “Or maybe take some classes?” He’s staring at the commercial posters lining the insides of the train car, but before Baekhyun can even explain how bad of an idea it is, Kyungsoo continues. “Think about it,” he urges quietly, “the firm’s renting me an apartment –“

“A small one,” cuts in Baekhyun. They haven’t visited the apartment, the lease not starting yet, but Baekhyun’s seen the pictures, read the measurements, and despite not being an architect or a math person, he knows that it’s small enough.

“– big enough for the both of us,” Kyungsoo rebuts, and Baekhyun starts to wonder if Kyungsoo’s been thinking about this for a while.

“And what _would_ I do here?” Baekhyun doesn’t really want to talk about this. Not when he too, has already thought about all the possibilities. “I don’t even know the language, couldn’t get a job if I wanted to. Besides, I majored in _English._ What Japanese company would want to hire a Korean who studied that?”

“Think of it as a gap year. You can take the time to learn the language; I’ll earn enough for the both of us. You could do anything. Visit all the places in Tokyo. In Japan. Eat your heart out. Anything, and…” _you’ll be here with me._

Baekhyun’s heart flutters, but he feels too uncertain. Never has he been so thankful for the PA announcing their stop. He stands up quickly and gets off, not even looking back to see what he’s left behind.

“Baekhyun.” Kyungsoo’s voice is firm, as firm as the hand that reaches out to grab him.

“No, you listen to me.” Baekhyun whirls around, emotions bubbling up too quickly inside of him. “I’m not even sure I’ll find a job in Korea. At least there I know people and I know the language. Here? I’ll be a deadweight. I’ll just be that thing that keeps you from going to dinners with your coworkers and soon you’ll be tired of having to do everything for me, like grocery shop or talk to the neighbors or whatever. I don’t want to hold you back.”

“Baek. Shhh, it’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” Kyungsoo wraps his hand around Baekhyun’s waist, shirt soaking up the few droplets leaking from Baekhyun’s eyes. “Let’s go home, I think we should talk about this.” On the way back, they pass by a weirdly built building made entirely of wood and glass. They walk right by; Kyungsoo doesn’t explain, and Baekhyun doesn’t ask.

They don’t end up talking about it, to Baekhyun’s relief and disappointment. The minute they get home, Baekhyun hurries into the bathroom and says, “I’m gonna start a bath.” And Kyungsoo, knowing that maybe he’d pushed enough, only looks after his back.

The water’s a little hotter than he would have liked, but Baekhyun doesn’t mind. The heat relaxes him, and he sinks in a little further, until his chin is resting just above the water. That’s when the shower room door slides open, and Kyungsoo comes in fully nude.

“I’ll scrub your back,” he says, a peace offering of sorts, and Baekhyun smiles up at him.

Kyungsoo washes himself quickly, lathering up the shampoo and massaging his scalp. He lets the soap duds rest while he soaps the rest of his body, and then uses the showerhead to wash himself clean. Baekhyun stays quiet through the whole ordeal, not even throwing his usual salacious comments. He only admires Kyungsoo and tries to keep this domestic image in his mind.

Once Kyungsoo is done, he walks to the tub.

“Behind?”

Baekhyun nods and slides forward, making space for Kyungsoo to climb in. The water splashes a little, and he leans back once Kyungsoo’s legs are situated outside his.

“I can’t scrub your back like this,” Kyungsoo says, but the warmth in his voice heats Baekhyun up more than the hot water could ever. He sits up a little and hunches forward, closing his eyes as he enjoys Kyungsoo rhythmically scrubbing his back with a loofa. Up and down, up and down.

“I think the tub has a Jacuzzi function too,” he says, and he whines when Kyungsoo stops in response.

“I think you’re right.” Kyungsoo leans toward the control panel to check. “Yup.”

The rumble sounds and small bubbles start forming right away, only to immediately disappear since they hadn’t poured in bubble bath substances. But the subtle vibration feels nice, and some of the water bubbles stay long enough to gather on their skin.

Baekhyun feels lips against his back and he shivers, and then Kyungsoo’s hands come around his waist to rest on his thighs, and Baekhyun rolls his head before leaning it back to rest on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

“There are bubbles on your leg,” Kyungsoo murmurs, and Baekhyun raises his head to look as he swipes his hand through the bubble colony, watching in fascination as they rush to the surface and disappear. He then places his head back and sighs in satisfaction when Kyungsoo kisses his temple. Kyungsoo’s hand strokes his thighs gently and there’s a light buzz under Baekhyun’s skin.

“There’s some on your nipples,” murmurs Kyungsoo. He hands come up, and in the same gentle manner, thumbs at Baekhyun’s nipples and areoles. Baekhyun doesn’t shudder, but the tingles running up his spine gives away his pleasure. He twists his body so he can give Kyungsoo a proper kiss on the lips, letting Kyungsoo’s hands on his waist ground him in this moment, in their moment.

The next morning, sunlight streams in from the window, through the narrow gap between curtains. Kyungsoo is the first to wake and he grimaces when he realizes that octopus-Baek is here again. With all those thin limbs, Kyungsoo wonders just how Baekhyun manages to cover such a large surface area. They decided to go without clothes after sex last night, but Kyungsoo feels hot with the human octopus on top of him. His light jostling must have awakened Baekhyun, who groans and nuzzles further into Kyungsoo’s neck.

“Ima – nanji desuka?” Baekhyun mumbles his question, and Kyungsoo tries his best in this semi-bound situation to wrestle his right arm free so he can try and feel the desk for his phone. Damn, even the sun seems to pale in comparison to the brightness of his screen.

“Six-thirty-ish,” groans Kyungsoo before he lets his hands drop back down on top of Baekhyun.

“Shh, go back to sleep,” and Baekhyun is back in dreamland. Kyungsoo looks down at the man he loves, at his button nose and thin lips, and decides to take a risk. He knows Baekhyun doesn’t want to face the issue, but there are literally only days left. They don’t have time. They need to fix things before their relationship snaps. Kyungsoo makes a choice and spends the next ten minutes trying to detach Baekhyun without waking him up so he can get out of bed.

When Baekhyun wakes up it’s already one in the afternoon. Kyungsoo’s not surprised. For some weird reason, soft sex tires Baekhyun out more than rough sex does.

_“It’s all the feels,” Baekhyun once said, “I need to recharge from all the affection I ooze.”_

Either way, Kyungsoo’s ready.

“I made lunch,” he tells Baekhyun, who’s shuffling into the small dining/kitchen area with nothing on, eyes rubbing at the sleep in his eyes.

“Whatta babe,” Baekhyun mumbles, and despite there being three other perfectly working chairs, he decides to plop his naked ass down on Kyungsoo’s lap. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but wraps his hands around Baekhyun’s waist anyways.

“Let’s stay in today,” he suggests. “Today I just want to really love you.” He presses his lips against Baekhyun’s forehead for a few seconds, ignoring Baekhyun’s squawk.

 

Kyungsoo wakes him up early the next morning for an impromptu trip.

“Baekhyunnie, wake up. Let’s go out of the city.” Baekhyun turns over, tired, sore from all the fucking they did yesterday. Kyungsoo was a demon. A real demon. He changed his mind. He’ll be perfectly fine in Korea alone, dammit.

“Nrgh…I just wanna sleep a little more…”

“C’mon babe,” Kyungsoo leaves kisses all over Baekhyun’s face, his lips crinkling into a smile as he watches Baekhyun scrunch his face.  

“Kyungjaaaa…” Baekhyun whines, but Kyungsoo just pokes him in the side.

“Get up, I made food. Let’s go out of the city today.”

Disgruntled, Baekhyun gets up slowly, rubbing his eyes and letting out a loud yawn. “…What the fuck Soo, where are we even going?”

Satisfied that his boyfriend was finally up, Kyungsoo made his way to the kitchen area. “Nasushiobara! Common, I want to take advantage of the whole day.”

This is how Baekhyun finds himself standing in front of a weird building – it’s circular but it’s not smooth; it looks like it was pieced together with many rectangular pieces until some form of a circle was created. This is probably some sort of a tourist information station? Apparently there are free shuttles around this small town, and that’s what they’re waiting for. Or what he’s waiting for, really, since Kyungsoo is still inside getting coupons and all that shit.

The sign in front of him reads “Nasu Kohgen Yuai No Mori,” thankfully in English, which he is a lot more comfortable with than Japanese. It’s enough for him to type in the hiragana into his phone – Nasushiobara. That’s where they are. What the fuck even is this place? How the hell did Kyungsoo find this? Baekhyun is filled with disbelief – when did Kyungsoo even plan all of these? He shakes his head. His boyfriend is weird, he knew that from day one, when he had just met the boy with a shaved head and wide eyes who looked innocent and penguin-like, only for the boy to slap his arm after Baekhyun voiced out his opinion when Chanyeol introduced the two of them.

Slapped!

Him!

After one introduction!

Geez, and people said Baekhyun warmed up to people too quickly. Clearly they’ve never met Kyungsoo, who was comfortable with hitting people minutes after meeting them. Baekhyun doesn’t mind though, he thinks Kyungsoo might have slapped some love into him that day.

Baekhyun has to admit that the stained glass museum is really pretty and cool, even though there’s a random English flag at the metal gate, but whatever – the walls are made up of rocks of all sizes and shapes, not even smoothed out to be a flat surface.

“Soo, why are we in Nasushiobara today?” The town is cute, from what he’s seen during the shuttle ride, but that doesn’t answer the question why he was rudely woken up this morning and rushed out the door to get on a long ass train ride here.

“I wanted to take you out –“

“The city, yes I know. But why? Why now? We’ve been in the city for a few days already.” They’re leaning against the stone railing that connects two stone buildings that they had accidentally discovered when Baekhyun was bored and was trying to open all the doors.

Kyungsoo stays quiet for a bit, but turns so his back is against the stonewall, and he’s almost facing Baekhyun.

“The next time you visit, I probably won’t have enough time to do day trips like this. I’ll only be able to take you to places in the city, mostly downtown, places that we can get to in minutes, areas that we can cover in short hours.” Baekhyun stills, his heart pounds – because Kyungsoo is almost addressing the elephant in the room, the elephant that seems to be filled with air and floats around the two of them, the elephant that seems to be lodged in his heart or his throat, and is filling up with air so quickly he thinks he’ll suffocate.

“Baek, I want to discover more of Japan with you. I want to travel around everywhere, I want to turn the world into places for our dates.” Why is he still talking? Baekhyun thinks he’ll start crying if his boyfriend keeps on being sappy like this.

“I want every date to be an adventure, to be a new experience; I want to take you somewhere new each time. If we only stay in the city this time, you might get bored the next time you visit, and –“ Kyungsoo stops here, his eyes staring straight ahead.

“And what?” Baekhyun thinks he knows what Kyungsoo was going to say. Thinks they’ve dated for so long and known each other for so long that they share some sort of telepathy. His heart pounds; it’s like his ears have turned on filters so that all noise fades away except for Kyungsoo. It’s always been Kyungsoo; his focus has always been on Kyungsoo. “And what, Kyungsoo?”

“And you might not want to visit anymore,” Kyungsoo continues softly, exhaling like he’s slowly releasing the burden that has been scratching away at his insides. “I know you work hard to save up for the tickets. I want to make them worthwhile for you.”

Baekhyun half-sobs, half-laughs. Because they’re just two stupid humans trying to maneuver the ways of life, and even though they’re soulmates and practically telepathic, their telepathy seems to disconnect when it comes to deep matters of the heart. They love each other, but their worries, doubts, insecurities – Baekhyun forgets that they still need to be more vocal with each other sometimes. “Silly penguin, I don’t care about anything else as long as I get to see you – as long as you want me to come. I’ll work as a waiter. I’ll scrub the toilets. I _will_ save up and I _will_ visit. I love you, don’t you know?”

Kyungsoo lets his smile shyly peak through, and Baekhyun makes his way so he stands in front of his boyfriend, and cages him with his arms. He leans in, relishing in the misty fog that cushions them. He presses his forehead against his boyfriend’s, and it should be weird to stare at someone so closely, but all Baekhyun can see is love. So much love. He giggles when Kyungsoo tilts his head up a little for an Eskimo kiss, and unconsciously his arms move up to circle around Kyungsoo’s neck when he finally goes in for a kiss. A peck, a brief interaction of their lips, and then finally a lock. Locked together, nothing too out of control, no tongues, just lips connecting and seeking, dancing to the music of heartbeats that slow down and sync – Baekhyun thinks he can feel eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks, knows he feel’s Kyungsoo’s thumbs rubbing at the skin right above his jeans, and utterly falls for this feeling right now of togetherness, of _them_.

“I mean what I said before,” Kyungsoo tells him when they break apart. “I’m going to be earning enough for the both of us. I can take care of you.”

Baekhyun swallows. “I know. But…I want to do it myself, you know? And…maybe I’ll try and look for a job here. When I know enough Japanese and when I have some money saved up. I want to show you that I’m capable, that I can stand on my own. I don’t want to hold you back, but maybe I can catch up to you?”

“You already have, babe, I’ll be waiting for you then. I can’t wait and see what you accomplish, because no matter what you think, you’re brilliant and amazing and you’ll do great things regardless of what you decide to do,” Kyungsoo smiles at him.

They get back on the shuttle to head to the next stop, and even though they know they have to talk more, even though they know nothing’s all solved yet, they can’t help but live in the moment, sharing soft smiles and a box of heart shaped strawberry pocky that Baekhyun had bought at the convenience store. It reminded him of Kyungsoo, he’d said, heart shaped lips and strawberry flavored dick.

_“The hell,” Kyungsoo said, deadpanned, “my dick does not taste like strawberries?”_

_Baekhyun rose his eyebrows. “Well first, you’ve never sucked your own dick, so you’ll never know. Second, your dick definitely tastes like strawberry – when we put flavored condoms on it.”_

_“Baekhyun.”_

_“Kyungsoooo.”_

_“No.”_

_“What?”_

_“We’re not buying flavored condoms.”_

_“But aren’t you curious to see if it tastes good?”_

_“The hell you going to do if it does? Bring it on trips as a snack? Tear open condoms in public spaces and eat it?”_

Maybe Baekhyun needs to stop worrying about the future so much. It’s all he’s done senior year. He worried about not graduating, worried about not having a job, worried about not having anything – and maybe he was missing out on the present. Maybe he needs to stop overthinking. He knows he loves Kyungsoo. Knows that Kyungsoo loves him. Isn’t that enough? Does it really matter if Kyungsoo has to live in Japan? Maybe he’s being a little ridiculous. After all, it’s less than three hours away.

Maybe he’ll tell Kyungsoo about the articles he has saved in his phone about potential jobs for English majors in Tokyo. Maybe he’ll tell Kyungsoo about the Japanese classes he’s been looking at back home. Or maybe…he’ll just link his hands with Kyungsoo’s and rest his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and enjoy the ride, anticipating the next stop in this small town. They’ll have to go back to Tokyo eventually. Baekhyun will have to go back to Korea eventually. But for now, they’re together, and that’s that.


	2. Bonus: Soak in the Onsen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baekhyun and Kyungsoo visit the onsen for a quick dip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Bonus scenes that didn't make the original cut are going to be added here! Could fit in the same universe, but could also stand alone as its own thing. Honestly this might turn into a collection of baeksoo traveling together.

“Just why,” deadpans Baekhyun, “are we going to the onsen during the summer?” The wooden plaque besides the pool reads 41˚C, and Baekhyun thinks he’s going to come out looking like a tomato. He’d desperately looked for a pool with a lower temperature; there was none.

With a groan, Kyungsoo steps in and slowly lowers himself into the scalding water. Unlike Baekhyun, who is still sitting on the edge with only his legs dipping in the water, Kyungsoo goes in until only his head and the bare surface of his shoulders show.

The smell is a little rancid, a little comforting, and there is no doubt that they’re in a sulfur onsen. Even the water, so unlike the usual onsens, is milky and slightly opaque, even though the water coming out of the bamboo shoot looks transparent.

“It’s raining outside, it’s cold – summer or not, it’s a good time for a soak.” Kyungsoo leans his head back and looks up at Baekhyun with hooded eyes. “You’re not getting in?”  
“It’s too hot,” Baekhyun protests, his hand continuously cupping the spring water to pour onto himself.

“I was thinking about doing a lap around,” muses Kyungsoo with a grin on his face, and Baekhyun flicks water in his direction. “In fact, I think I’ll try 42 now.” Kyungsoo stands up and treads through the water until he’s standing between Baekhyun’s legs.

“Are you for real?” Baekhyun splutters indigenously. “I’m not even completely in yet!”

Kyungsoo brings his hands out of the water and places them on his boyfriend’s thighs. Slowly, he drags the heels of his palms down towards the knees, pushing into the plush thighs in an attempt to warm them up. The heat of his hands does nothing to cool down the fire burning in Baekhyun’s soul, good intentions be damned.

“You’re too hot,” Baekhyun sighs, flicking his hand up to create a small fruitless spray, watching a few water droplets splattering only as high as Kyungsoo’s nipples.

Kyungsoo continues running his hands up and down Baekhyun’s thighs, the silence extending to a point where any reply should be awkward. He looks at Baekhyun straight in the eyes and says, “I know.”

A smile lights up the small wooden onsen room, or maybe that’s just Kyungsoo feeling the effects of Baekyun’s bright, contagious smile.

Giddy, as he is every time Kyungsoo admits to these seemingly trivial statements, Baekhyun scoots forward a little so the bottom of his thighs come in contact with the water. His skin burns and itches, and his hands react immediately, moving to scratch frantically.

“Did you also know that you’re really cute?” Baekhyun asks.

“I know,” Kyungsoo repeats again. Although there is an exasperated note of defeat in his voice, his lips form a heart, and Baekhyun just really wants to kiss him right now.

There must be something in his own eyes that give away his thoughts, or it could just be that Kyungsoo has a Ph.D in Byun Baekhyun, but Kyungsoo leans down. Somewhere in the middle, they meet.

Baekhyun’s really glad that the room is empty right now; he really wouldn’t want to freak any Japanese grandpas out and cause trouble.

Minutes after Baekhyun is finally more than halfway submerged in the 41 degree Celsius pool, Kyungsoo is dipping his toes in the adjacent 47 degree Celsius pool. The strip of land between the pools is small enough that they’re able to reach out and link their hands together, but they quickly pull apart when the doors slid open and two old men walked in. Baekhyun watches, entranced, as they immediately get into the hottest pool possible. His brows furrow in confusion, and he looks at Kyungsoo in shock.

“How is that even possible?” He mouths towards his boyfriend, who is calmly running his hands over his arms to try and bring the hot water to his upper chest. Kyungsoo shakes his head in amusement at Baekhyun’s amazement, and stands up.

“You ready to try another pool?” Kyungsoo has taken on the unspoken challenge of taking a lap throughout the room, and he’s actually advancing quite nicely, already moving on to his fifth out of seven pools. Baekhyun – Baekhyun’s working on getting his neck into the first pool.

On Baekhyun’s list of “favorite things to do with Do Kyungsoo,” he thinks this takes the win. Doing mundane domestic things that old married couples do together, like sipping on green tea in yukatas on the indoor balcony in Japanese hotels with ankles linked together, or walking hand in hand through the park with cherry blossoms falling over their heads, or coming to the onsen together and relaxing in the nude, so intimate without even touching each other. ----Baekhyun loves it. Wishes he could bring the onsen back home, to their small apartment. A paradise within a paradise. 

***

Baekhyun has always thought that after being in the hot spring for so long, the outside air would be totally colder.

“It makes sense,” he whines to Kyungsoo, who looks at him with disbelief.

“When I get in the pool after being in the Jacuzzi, the water _always_ feels hella cold.” Baekhyun sits on a stool with his body dry, butt naked other than the towel wrapped around his privates.

With strangers in the space, Baekhyun doesn’t want to do anything too scandalous, especially since he’s in a foreign country. But he also wants to cool his tomato skin before getting dressed, which is why instead of putting his clothes on, he’s staring blatantly at Kyungsoo.

“You’re so gorgeous,” Baekhyun whines, “I wanna kiss you.”

Kyungsoo glances at the two old men chatting away in the pool and shakes his head. “I’ll kiss you later,” he promises, “when we get outside.”

The moment they finally do leave the onsen, with Kyungsoo patiently rushing Baekhyun to hurry the fuck up, Baekhyun sees the world in a whole new light.

“I feel warm?” Baekhyun swings his hand through the air a few times, as if he wanted to make sure that the outside air is actually the same as it was before.

“I told you; the onsen warms you up.” Kyungsoo thrusts his phone in front of Baekhyun’s face.

Outside temperature, 10 degrees Celsius, even colder than before they’d gone in.

Baekhyun raises his eyebrows suggestively and says, “The onsen was nice, but I’d much prefer –“  
“Me warming up,” Kyungsoo interrupts and finishes, “I know.”  
His boyfriend always did know him best, and Baekhyun keeps his brows raised high as he leans toward.

Kyungsoo shrugs. “If you’re good…”

He pouts. “But you owe me a kiss!”

“So I do,” Kyungsoo tilts his head as if pondering, but he leans in and gives Baekhyun a smooch, a loud smack ringing around just the two of them.

No further words are needed. Baekhyun quickly links his arms with Kyungsoo and starts his way toward to bus stop. He puffs in excitement, but any potential puff of air is already camouflaged within the crowd of fog lingering in the air.

**Author's Note:**

> Congrats, you made it through! Sorry if the ending seemed a little abrupt? Honestly I finished most of this today on a whim, so I might go back and edit more parts.


End file.
